The Rescue Book 2 of 2 in Series
by CrimsonPenny
Summary: With Liesl, Artur and Brigitta captured by Herr Zeller's men, it's up to Georg, Maria and the remaining five children to save them. However, with the captain's old facade resurfacing, and Brigitta beginning to suffer with Hypothermia, will the family ever regroup? [Rated T for Violence/Language. I do not own the Sound of Music]
1. Chapter 1

_**Chapter 1**_

 **Ok. First off, those who haven't read the first book and have no idea what's going on (or who the hell Artur is) please go and read it. It will make this book seem a lot more sense, trust me.**

 **Second, Hypothermia (for all those who have no idea what it is) is where your body loses more heat than it can produce, causing a dangerously low body temperature. Normal body temperature is around 98.6 F (36 C). Hypothermia (Hi-poe-thur-me-uh) occurs as your body temperature drops below 95 F (35 C).**

 **What's so dangerous it? Well,** **when your body temperature drops, your heart, nervous system and other organs can't work normally. Left untreated, hypothermia can eventually lead to complete failure of your heart and respiratory system and eventually to death.**

 **Liesl's POV**

I feel like all my energy, all my strength, is being sucked from within me. I know, we've just slept, but my joints are still so ached from our last walk, and already the boys are forcing us up again.

Artur seems to be coping well, surprising for someone who has no idea what is going on. You could say I was coping, I'm scared obviously but the concern is a worse feeling. Not concern for myself, but for Brigitta. She felt freezing, and I mean _freezing_ , when I was holding her earlier. She seemed distant too, but that wasn't unnatural for her.

"Get up!" I was snapped from my thoughts, looking up to see the black-haired boy shoving Brigitta to her feet.

She stood, stumbled a few steps at his force, before standing like some drunk man. Her skin was pale as I pulled my hand from Rolf's grip and hurried over to her. The colour had drained from her cheeks, leaving a faint greyish tint in the usual reddish colour's spot. Brigitta stares at the white sky, mouth parted just a little.

"Brigitta?"

She blinks a few times, and her gaze diverts itself down to me. She seemed alarmed and nervous, yet had nothing to say, like someone had just muted her. I knelt, so I was her height, and rubbed her shoulders like mother, before she died, used to do to me when I was little.

"L-Liesl?" she mumbled, a bit of a lisp arising when she said my name.

"There you go," I smiled, standing up, holding her hand.

"I'll take it from here gentlemen," I walked back over to Rolf, Brigitta's hand still in mine, and willingly allowed him to pull me along…

 **Artur's POV**

I watched as Liesl retrieved Brigitta, keeping her firmly by her side. When the boy had shoved her roughly to her feet, I felt the anger ripple inside of me. I don't know why… well I do. Brigitta was my friend, one of the only ones I had, and she meant so much to me. Although, whenever one of the older children bully Josef, I feel angry. But… not as much as I did now… It was like someone had just switched my attitude from friendly and cautious to angry and cold…

 _When I met you_ , I thought _, I expected you were just one of those sissy, silly little girls who spend their life hiding behind "dear old daddy's" back. You really had to show me wrong, didn't you? Turns out you're not at all like I expected, of course you're not… You're a Von Trapp. From what you described, you're all apparently different in your own way. All the girls in my village seem so plain and simple now, even the ones I had fallen head-over-heels for throughout the years…_

My thoughts shocked me so much that I nearly stumbled, my boots dragging through the snow. I had always seen her as something different, and that different was always weird. It was only a day or two ago did I begin to recognise her for what she really was. Pure. Unselfish. Free… It must've run in the family, as it appeared that all the Von Trapp children bore this quality, as did their step-mother. How did I not see it in the first place? Was it because they were strangers, and that Captain von Trapp looked so fierce with his dirty yet smooth face, chiselled jaw and all. And earlier, when Brigitta stared into my eyes, I held her gaze. I actually _held_ her gaze, I didn't cringe, I didn't shiver, I didn't look away, I _held_ it…

Were we even strangers, unknown children from families of unfamiliar cultures? I doubt that now, I think it's just that I was too reluctant to open and _try_ to at least get to know them. There was something there, the way she was willing to talk to me, to _listen_ …

I think… I think I'm in love with her…

No…No that's ridiculous. I'm thirteen, and she's only eleven. I don't understand what people like mother and father have, so I doubt she would either. Maybe I just care strongly about her, that's all, a brotherly love I have towards her… No. No, that's not right. I don't have the _same_ feeling with Josef. It's just as strong, but not quite the _same_ …


	2. Chapter 2

_**Chapter 2**_

 **Hello All, I must apologise for my absence. I've been ill due to the amount of stress I'm going through, as many of you know that this the most stressful time of year for a lot of young people. I enjoy writing so much, and it is heart-breaking for me whenever I can't continue a story, as it's not just the readers who get excited about what happens in the next chapter etc… etc…**

 **Liesl's POV**

Rolf and his friends, or whoever they are, had lead us down through the forest rather than up across the mountains. We hadn't come this way, so it was impossible to recognise anything at all. There was a river a few meters beside us, and it was wider than ones I'd ever seen, and rather than gently meandering around the trees, it fiercely, with great force, slammed against the earth and roots, slowly eating the land away. The water was a disgusting, turbid brown colour, and a few branches bobbed up and down here and there, haven been taking by surprise by the water, like we had been.

I looked down at Brigitta, her black hair covering most of her face, to see she was gazing out at the forest, like I was. Ashen faced, both of her frail, small hands clung to my arm, and she turned away from the river to look up at me with large, scared eyes. I smiled confidently, planting a motherly kiss on her forehead, before turning back to the leaf-covered path we were following.

"Are we sending them straight to Herr Zeller?" a black-haired boy, Hans, asked.

The name froze my blood crisp in my veins, and I swallowed uncomfortably to try and soothe my dry throat. Brigitta coughed continuously about five or six times. It was a barking cough, and I could hear the faint whistling sound you get when the airways close. After her sudden outburst, she began to wheeze as her body shook violently. She doubled over, the cough sounding like phlegm in her throat, but much, much worse. I stopped, forcing the others to stop to, and shot Rolf an angry, begging glare, and he reluctantly let go of my other arm. Artur had also managed to get free and hurried over, standing beside me as I knelt at my sister's side.

"I'm s-so h-h-hungry… a-and I'm r-r-really…" she stopped halfway through her sentence, lurching forward again, and vomiting.

The pungent odour attacked and invaded my nostrils, and I cringed a little bit, rubbing Brigitta's back as I had no idea what else to do. Artur, ripping part of his already worn white gown, handed the small piece to her. She held it, as if confused, and he took it from her again and began cleaning the corners of her mouth gently. Once clean, he pulled her into a hug, and she instinctively, and tiredly, rested her head on his shoulder.

The tallest boy, fed up with being held back, walked over to Artur and Brigitta, pried them apart, effortlessly picked up my sister and began walking ahead. She didn't make any movements to indicate she was going to fight back, but instead of looking peaceful like she had been moments before, she looked utterly terrified. Rolf took my arm again and dragged me forward, my feet beginning to move like clockwork. I hadn't asked them to, they just did it. I was too busy watching Brigitta, but all I could see was her messy, raven coloured hair. Artur sadly glanced at her, and I realised at that moment that she must've been the only friend he had, other than all the village children, and that was only a few.

Then something struck me. When we were under attack, Brigitta had followed Artur, rather than Friedrich, towards Herr Gedney. I don't know if she did it on accident or on purpose, but I always guessed that she would've ran with Friedrich. The only reason I followed her is because I wanted to make sure she was safe…


	3. Chapter 3

_**Chapter 3**_

 **Brigitta's POV**

Bitterly cold, yet humid. I can't make my mind up which I feel right now. I don't even understand where I am, I just know that I'm not walking, someone is carrying me. I've been asleep, I hope, in this stranger's arms, I know I have, I've got that fresh yet uncomfortable tired feeling. Or is that because of the cold? Again, I have no idea.

My vision is fading, I know that now. Everything is just a haze, a blur. My hearing, however, is still sharp, even more so now I think about it. I can hear everything, the panting from the stranger carrying me, the creaking shrieks from the brittle branches as they're twisted under the weight of the chilling wind, even our feet as we trudge through a mixture of water, leaves and snow. The cold is biting my face and my exposed skin alike, sucking the heat from my fingertips, and as I give a long, shuddering sigh, I can feel the vapour landing on my skin like a blanket of mist.

I tried to cover the lower ends of my legs with Rolf's coat, but as soon as I made any movement, shooting pains rippled through my muscles chaotically. I squeezed my eyes shut, gritting my teeth, before making another attempt. No use. My entire body had gone numb, it was agony to move….

"Brigitta?" a familiar voice entered my ears, and I opened my eyes.

We had appeared to stop, and I could no longer feel someone carrying me. My eyesight still adjusting, I sat up, putting my arms out. Two blurs, one slightly taller than the other. Liesl and Artur, hopefully. Yes, there was Artur's brown hair, and that icy, blue blob must be Liesl's eyes. I must've dropped off, because when I moved, it no longer felt or heard the same crunching noise form before.

"Are you alright?" Artur asked.

"Y-Y-Yes, are you?" I mumbled. I noticed, however, that he had exchanged glances with Liesl.

"Brigitta, you're speaking like you're drunk…" Liesl whispered. To be honest, I was surprised. I sounded normal in my ears, why not in theirs?

"A-Am I?" I asked, and Liesl nodded. I gave a little mumbled 'oh'.

"Your skin is much paler than before, oh we simply must get you over to that fire," Liesl explained, rubbing my shoulders.

"They will never allow it," Artur pointed out, and Liesl have a short, frustrated huff.

"Well then," Liesl took her coat off, snuggled up to me and put it around us both, "We'll have to improvise."

Artur didn't hesitate to remove his coat, and snuggled into my other side, slipping the coat around both our shoulders. I, toasty as ever, lay back, closing my eyes once more. Liesl lay, her back to me, and so did Artur, only he faced me. I felt, after a while, his hand slip onto my shoulder, and I shifted my body a little just in time to see him stare right into my eyes. He awkwardly looked away, removing his hand at once, and turned his back on me. I, smiling to myself, snuggled up to him, my head resting just below his shoulder blades, and curled into a ball. And, although I couldn't see it, knew he was positively radiating with warmth and happiness.


End file.
